Behind 15 points from senior Tiara Willingham and 12 from Quwanna Young, the Hixson Lady Wildcats hung on to defeat East Ridge 42-41 in District 6-AA basketball Tuesday. Hixson ended a 74-game losing streak with its first win since Jan. 18, 2007.
The Lady Wildcats (1-13, 1-5) were down 41-39 after a Kierra Finley free throw with 23.3 seconds remaining, but Willingham was fouled on the ensuing possession. Arguing the call, East Ridge coach Keith Johnston was whistled for a technical foul — his second of the game — and was ejected.
Willingham connected on three of four free throws, but Hixson had to sweat it out after receiving a technical foul when a fan came onto the court. The Lady Pioneers’ Danielle King missed a pair of free throws, and then Mishael McColley missed a short jumper and Willingham grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 0.8 second remaining. She missed the free throws, but it didn’t matter as time ran out.
“I knew I could make them,” Willingham, the Lady Wildcats’ only senior, said of the set of four. “We knew we had to get the ball downcourt and either score or get fouled. I knew if I got fouled, I had to hit the free throws.
“It’s just an amazing feeling to do this.”
Hixson trailed 12-3 at the end of the first quarter and 25-16 at halftime, partially because of East Ridge’s ability to hit shots — including five that banked in from at least 15 feet out. The Lady Wildcats hurt themselves offensively by going 6-of-15 from the foul line in the first half.
“When we fell behind, I told the girls to continue to play hard, play together and as a team,” Hixson coach Laura Wood said. “In the second half, we just ran our half-court zone offense, except we stacked to one side as opposed to the other.”
The Lady Wildcats went on a 10-4 run in the first 3:45 of the third quarter, cutting the lead to 29-26 on a putback by Brianne Allgood. The teams traded baskets and the Lady Pioneers (1-10, 1-4) led 31-28 going into the fourth.
Hixson continued to chip away at the East Ridge lead, finally taking a 35-34 advantage on a layup by Willingham with 3:54 remaining. The Lady Wildcats stretched the lead to 39-34, but East Ridge went on a 7-0 run for a 41-39 advantage.
“It’s a win,” Wood said, “and a win leads to more wins. We’re just going to continue to work hard. The girls have seen that it has paid off. This is a positive thing for us and an incentive to work harder. These girls have been beaten a lot, and I can’t say that every night has been fun, but I am happy and proud of these girls for getting their first win.”